Over 5,274 reviews forPortland Home Builders from people just like you.

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"The job started strong and the paint job done immediately. Afterwords, I voiced my concerns and was told that these items would be fixed during the walk through." ...More When I pointed them out during the walk though I didn't feel like I received a strong response, more of, well that's the way the wood is.

-Alisha G.

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was very easy to communicate with. He offered ideas for saving us a substantial amount on the project, and was persistent with engineer" ...More and architect in making necessary changes to plans. The work was completed in a professional and timely manner. We are a business, so he and his subs had to work around our open hours, which they willingly did! Everyone was respectful and pleasant to have in our building. We are planning to hire his company to do more of our project, including a new porch, ramp, roof and more!

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Angie's Answers

Yes, but you won't like what will probably happen (this is a worst case scenario, hopefully you will avoid most):

The purpose for a building permit is to ensure meeting the minimum standards for construction practices and minimum safety standards. A contractor who works without a permit, does so because they know they are not in compliance (and to save money at your expense). They knew they should have had inspections and permits for their work. Who ever built the addition should be reported to both the building official as well as the Better Business Bureau. It is ultimately the homeowner who is responsible for ensuring the proper permits have been applied for, though.

So when you apply for your permit, you will be pretending as if the work is not completed (you do not hide this fact, you just have to follow the correct process as if it hadn't been built). Your first stop will be with zoning; can you even add an addition, do you have the proper clearances from the side, front and rear property lines. If it is a bedroom, does the septic system (perk test) support an additional bedroom. If your building already meets or exceeds the amount of building allowed on the site or if you do not have the clearances required from the property line, your addition may be required to be removed. There are appeal processes and variance requests you can try before tearing down the addition (Get an architect).

If your zoning review is fine, next you go to permitting. Here you will submit plans (drawings) of what was built. If you do not have these plans, consider hiring an Architect to generate As-Built drawings for this use. Hopefully the plan review comes back with no changes, or you will alread know your addition is not in compliance and may face rebuilding. Depending on the type of construction, your zoning and your local building requirements, you will be required to have inspections of your foundation / footings, the framing, the electrical, mechancial and HVAC systems, etc. affected by the work.

This may require digging the ground back up so the inspector can confirm foundation depth, size and draingage requirements. The interior wall finishes (gypsum board, panelling, etc) may have to be removed in some or all areas so the framing and electrical can be inspected (If one area fails, be prepared to pull all areas down). At each inspection, if the work is found to be lacking, then you will have to correct the work before getting permission to use the room. If there is an electrical or safety violation found, it is possible the Building Official could declare the entire property inhabitable until the offenses are corrected (IE you are homeless until it is fixed).

As you can see, you have to hope beyond belief that the builder constructed everything correctly and that the building officials will work with you to minimize the amount of deconstruction necessary to inspect the work.

Also, you will be charged all the fees associated with plan review and permitting, and you will be charged for each inspection visit (as your builder would have been charged initially had they followed the law).

As for value, here is the real concern: If your home burns down or faces some similar disaster, your home owners insurance will balk at paying; they will blame the illegal construction as the cause. As for the value of your building, not having a permit will make any buyer have a difficult time getting their own insurance, thus harder to sell. The room itself will add value to your property, if it isn't a hazard (IE permitted).

Also, taxes are based upon assessments, which use the land records. Building without a permit, can be seen by local officials as an attempt to avoid paying property taxes, since the land records do not show the addition. Until the official tax records reflect an accurate statement of your building, you may face fines, tax fees and other costs associated with the improvement depending upon how long it has been there unreported.

You may wish to contact a local, licensed Architect who works with the local building department. They will know the personel, know which forms you need to fill out first and how to protect you from an overzealous Building Official (there are exceptions and options within the Code that the Building Official may forget or ignore that an Architect can request be used to prevent tear down or damage). Next time you go to build get the Architect first to protect yourself from what this construction firm did to you.

Unfortunately this is not something you will easily resolve; and even if you were to win, the amount of time and funds spent will probably exceed the cost of the actual repair.

Each state has different rules on what "as-is" means, but almost all use the term when it comes to realestate sales. At two years, you are facing a hurdle that any issue could be the result of new conditions, acceptable wear / settlement, etc. Has there been any changes in the area? (New house built next door, new addition, earthquake, flooding, etc?)

While you may have been given a home warranty with the purchase (do check your sales paperwork to see if there is any warranty and what it covers for how long) the house is sold to you as-is; it is your responsibility to raise concerns prior to taking over the house, so going back two years later is a huge up hill batle.

The home inspector is also going to be found faultless, as their reports almost always have words like "consult with an expert. . ." after each report section and they have disclaimers for missed items, etc. I got certified as a home inspector and was surprised at just how little they actually require you to know to become an inspector. They are really just an extra pair of eyes to help inexpereinced home owners look where most people don't look or go. You even mention that the repair work was well masked, so you didn't notice it until you began looking for it. A good inspector might have caught it, but you won't win any court cases proving yours wasn't good enough.

The Seller will claim that any foundation issues were fixed and resolved, which is why they marked "No" on the foundation issue section. They fixed it; so it was no longer an issue. If it came back, that is a new issue. You and I know this is bogus, but to win in court you have to prove intent; and the builder can easily show they thought it was fixed. Or, they might even be able to claim they were unaware - the repairs were from the previous owner, and were hidden so well HE and YOU didn't notice them.

So the next step is to meet with your home insurance agent. As I mentioned above, if there have been any enviromental changes (a new house next door could have changed the underground water table flow or pressures, for example) you may be covered. Even if there are no issues, you still may have a policy that allows for major repairs to be covered after a certian cost threshold, etc. You'd be surprised at what your home owners insurance covers - find out first; they might have in house or low cost engineers who will do the initial inspection, etc. They also will provide advice on your home sale; if they think you have a case against the Seller.

Best of luck on this issue. Make sure any solution you pay for solves the cause (Stress on the wall), and doesn't just fix the results (cracks).

"Like a sunroom" indicating the addition has yet to be built? If it's just a remodel there are several remodeling contractors to choose from. If you also need the addition built pick a general contractor with experience building new construction as well as additions. If s/he provides a price before the plans and specifications are on paper drop them like a hot potato. They don't know what they're doing. Whether they have the ability to provide the plans and specifications first or they refer you to an architect you must have plans to properly bid a major remodel or addition. It is also good practice anyway just to make sure both parties are on the same page and understand exactly what will be done.

Just a note about the "type" of contractors described in another answer. The one's who do most or all of the work themselves are not very profitable without doing something illegal or cutting corners somewhere, if they finish the job. The time a contractor spends on a job takes away from the office time needed to run a proper business and chase new leads to keep working after your job is finished. There are honest people out there who do everything themselves and don't need to make much money in a year but they are few and far between, typically retired and so the work as a means to keep active and make a little side money. Others try to do a couple of jobs at once and rob from the funds of one to help pay for the other. They just aren't experienced enough and were probably sub-contractors who suddenly thought they could run the show. I've seen it repeatedly. They hit up the customer for more money due to their own budget planning or abandon the job because they aren't making any more money. be leary of a contractor who does not either use an employed or sub-contracted crew, meaning they manage the project's quality, time, and money distribution.

FYI: CPVC and PEX are two different materials and installed differently. PEX is not intended to be glued but instead has special crimp fittings. PEX is a brand name of one product that is manufactured slightly differently by others as well so it is important that the same brand fittings are used to match the pipe material.

Mobile homes used CPVC for years and some still do. It works fine but is not as strong as a properly soldered copper pipe system. Is the contractor installing this new plumbing a licensed plumber? I'd be surprised if he is since he's using CPVC and not PEX (or similar) or copper. PEX pipe is even cheaper than CPVC when run by a knowledgable plumber. It doesn't require nearly as many joints since it comes in rolls and can flex through spaces easily.

There are some groups raising a fuss about BPA and other chemicals found in plastics that don't like the use of CPVC, PVC, or PEX pipe. I haven't seen the results of any lab tests to confirm or dispute their concerns. As far as durability goes it's fairly safe as long as it's properly installed and secured. It is not as susceptible to hard water damage as copper. It absolutely must be insulated along it's entire length to protect it from contact to other materials as well as freezing. Also, the fixtures in the house need to be grounded electrically since the pipe itself provides no electrical protection against accidental shock or electrocution. In a copper plumbed house the system is grounded so static electricity, a short in a wire near a water line, or lightning strike will carry the current out through the pipe instead of through the water to you, ideally.

If it's installed correctly you should be fine but make sure the contractor knows what he is doing and follows the proper procedures to use CPVC pipe.

Home Building reviews in Portland

A

Rating

“

Completed remodel on time and on budget.

was easy to work with and available to answer any questions, walk the job site, and provide status updates.”

- MICHAEL H.

A

Rating

“

worked long-distance to plan the job because I was out of state planning the addition/remodeling job. I got the architect's plans to him for his estimate, learned he would work with me on the cost if I contributed some of the labor myself. Terrible delays with the Building Department didn't phase him, and he kept ...More me on his schedule even as he bumped the job back a week and then two weeks.
He arrived after the excavation was done and worked fast and smoothly to get the forms ready for first inspection, then the footings poured, and ditto the second set of forms for foundation walls. He was very savvy and quick, very decent in interactions with me both as an assistant and as his hiring home-owner. We had a major change because of discovering difficult conditions in the old house's foundation/footing, and he adapted and let me design the changed section and build forms myself, didn't charge me even for the re-bar he contributed to the change and called it square because of the labor I'd contributed.
Four months later, the addition has gone up perfectly based on his calculation of level and elevation for the top of the pour and the start of the sill and wood framing above, so I've been grateful for four months for such a good beginning.”

- Chett B.

A

Rating

“

was amazing. From start to finish they handled the whole job with such grace, honesty, professionalism and skill that I wish there was a rating higher than "A" available. The entire time the project was happening, the house was occupied by my family (my wife, myself and our 2 toddlers). This is basically the worst version ...More of an occupied home to work on, I imagine, having to be mindful of naps, or dirt and hazards, of weird schedules and crying or curious small children with zero sense of boundaries or self-preservation. Our project manager was a complete star in all ways, navigating the inevitable bumps in the process so wonderfully.
The finished project is spectacular and has made such an impact on the quality of our life! They were realistic and reasonable in choosing materials, finishes etc that were within budget but are still very high quality.
They were not the cheapest of the folks we interviewed, but we trusted them to do a high quality job for a reasonable budget, and most importantly we trusted them to stay on time and not to hit us with a ton of change orders. On a total budget of about $130,000, we had less than $500 in change orders, which was incredible considering the age and condition of our house.”

- Irena G.

D

Rating

“

Started in 2009 and finished in 2012, and had to come back and re do the garage floor, and still didn't do it right. Had cracked concrete flooring in the garage. Put the shingles on incorrectly. I would never recommend him.”

- Cynthia J.

C

Rating

“

Generally, the rebuild of the garage was satisfactory. There was a problem with the rewiring. Shocks when we touched metal electrical outlets or the freezer handle. It was mentioned. I fixed it after several months. I found a ground wire in one of the new boxes touching a hot wire. But the biggest problem and hassle was the new garage doors. New, heavier ...More doors were installed and they did not close properly. It took months before action was taken to correct the problem. Then there was a communication problem over correcting the finish on the doors. Finally, after a huge argument, a final payment was agreed upon. And, even though the doors close all the way, when they are latched they still swing outward. Here's what I know.

can be a gregarious, outgoing person. And his work can be very good at times. However, I would recommend that you be very specific and take very good notes every time you communicate with

. Ask about sub-contractors and assistants and how reliable they are. Ask about costs if he recommends a change to the original plan. Establish a timetable for completion of the work. Because if you do not and you have a disagreement, Mr.

was one of the luckier days of my life as a landlord. He and his long-established crew are amazing and I cannot recommend

highly enough. After a frustrating

for a contractor, I finally found him through a recommendation from

...More at Kitchen Concepts, and the whole process worked beautifully throughout. O'

had previously done the work on

School and other

locations, and he knows his business and how to schedule and deal with customers. His guys were always on time, always cleaned and tidied up, worked tirelessly, knew their business, and were easy to have around. O'

is a problem-solver, which is perfect for an old house (1925) and he figured out how to squeeze in a full bath upstairs and get it approved by the city. His price was not quite but almost the lowest bid; two other bids were absurdly high. Any extra costs came from the unexpected bad plumbing and some changes I made. All in all, a terrific experience. ”

- KATHY F.

A

Rating

“

The project started over a year ago and still has another year until completion, so I might be jumping the gun here, but I've consistently been so impressed with Encompass and their guys that I thought it warranted a good review sooner than later. The project is going great though. They always come in with the best prices for the quality of work ...More they offer and are very self sufficient. Not to mention they have great communication with the staff and I whenever something comes up that could affect a current or future resident.”

- Kelsey S.

A

Rating

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and his team were very friendly and professional. They began and completed the work as promised. The results look great. Their bid was the best of over half a dozen bids we got for this job. We would definitely use them again for any concrete work in the future!”